1960s

Elvis’ Christmas special

/ TY / 2 Comments

For today’s Christmas edition of The Mystery Train Elvis Blog, I originally planned to write a short retrospective of the 1982 album Memories Of Christmas. Last week, I browsed over to the Elvis Today blog and found that Thomas had just written almost the exact same “Memories Of Christmas” post I had planned (even down to beginning with a reference to 1994’s If Every Day Was Like Christmas album). Hey Thomas, get out of my head, man!

In all seriousness, Thomas and I have very similar views and approaches when it comes to Elvis, so these things happen to us from time-to-time. There was one small element of Memories Of Christmas that he did not mention in that particular post, however, so I decided to use that as a springboard to a new idea. This time, I ran it past him first to make sure he did not already have it in the works for this week.

Thomas gave me the all clear, so today I’m going to talk about Elvis’ 1967 Christmas special.

Wait, wait, wait. Don’t fire off a correction message to me just yet.

Yes, I said 1967 Christmas special. That was not a typo.

While Elvis’ 1968 Christmas special is legendary, nearly lost to time is Elvis’ Christmas special from the previous year. His 1967 Christmas special no doubt inspired the original concept of the ELVIS (’68 Comeback) special.

Season's Greetings From Elvis flyer (1967)

Season’s Greetings From Elvis flyer (1967)

On Sunday, December 3, 1967, a special called Season’s Greetings From Elvis aired on over 2,000 stations across the United States. Why is it mostly forgotten? Season’s Greetings From Elvis was a radio special.

The special contained no new numbers by Elvis, but instead featured previously released Christmas and religious music. The songs in the half-hour show included:

  • Here Comes Santa Claus (1957)
  • Blue Christmas (1957)
  • O Little Town Of Bethlehem (1957)
  • Silent Night (1957)
  • I’ll Be Home For Christmas (1957)
  • I Believe (1957)
  • If Every Day Was Like Christmas (1966)
  • How Great Thou Art (1966)
  • His Hand In Mine (1960)
  • I’ll Be Home For Christmas (1957)

The special’s finale, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” contained a new voice-over by Elvis: “Thank you for listening. I’d like to wish you a merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.” Oddly, this 1967 audio was later placed on top of “Silent Night” on Memories Of Christmas (and re-released on 1994’s If Every Day Was Like Christmas). However, the beginning music of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and not “Silent Night” can still be heard in the background on those releases as Elvis speaks the lines.

Exactly one year later, on December 3, 1968, the more famous Elvis Christmas special aired for the first time. Colonel Tom Parker’s original concept for the ’68 special sounded like little more than a TV version of Season’s Greetings From Elvis. The eventual show turned out much different, of course, and changed everything.

To fellow Elvis fans across the world, I’d like to wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas.

* * *

Image Source
Thank you to Holger Bock at Rare Elvis for providing the original image of an RCA promotional flyer for the 1967 radio special. Please do not reproduce this image without obtaining permission of Holger at Rare Elvis.

Research Sources

  • Careless Love: The Unmaking Of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick, Little, Brown And Company, Boston, 1999 (page 282).
  • Season’s Greetings From Elvis, Elvis In Norway, 2010.
  • Elvis: Word For Word by Jerry Osborne, Harmony Books, New York, 2000 (page 204).
  • Elvis: The Biography by Jerry Hopkins, Plexus, London, 2007 (page 205).
  • ELVIS: His Life From A To Z by Fred Worth and Steve Tamerius, Wings Books, New York, 1992 (page 560).

How Great Thou Art up next for FTD Classic Album Series

/ TY

Hey folks,

I’m more than a little under the weather, so I won’t be able to do a real post this week. I did want to mention FTD’s next Classic Album release, the Grammy-winning How Great Thou Art.

As well as the May 1966 sessions that made up the original album, there will also be bonus tracks drawn from June 1966 and September 1967. Definitely will make for an interesting release.

It will be available internationally later this month, usually about a month later for the US.

I hope to be back next week. I have lots of post ideas, just no energy to do them up right.

Looking Back at Elvis’ Benefit Concert in Hawaii

/ TY / 4 Comments

Elvis was nervous at the start of the show, but the screaming audience has since calmed his fears. Truth is, he learned to use his nervous energy to his advantage on stage years ago. Despite all that has changed in his life, the fuel that powers him continues to be his fans.

This concert is a little different from most of the others, though. This time, he is in Hawaii to raise money for a cause that is very important to him. Colonel has worked out most of the details, of course, including talks with NBC to have the concert aired on TV.

A few songs in now, Elvis glances at his hastily scribbled list to see what is up next. It turns out to be one of his favorites, one sure to get a reaction from the crowd. “Treat me like a fool,” he begins and is met with more yells of approval. He still knows his audience, no matter what anybody says.

After introducing the band and backup singers, it is time for another song. He first heard this Drifters number back in 1954, but didn’t get to record it until he was out of the Army. “It was a night, ooh what a night it was, it really was such a night,” he sings into the microphone.

This time, the audience is a little quiet at first. They don’t know this one as well. No problem, Elvis throws a little leg into it and is instantly rewarded with more cheers. Secretly, he is glad Colonel’s deal fell through and those NBC cameras aren’t here after all. No need to tone this show down.

The year is 1961, and Elvis is in Hawaii to help raise money for the USS Arizona memorial. Just over seven months from now will mark the twentieth anniversary of the December 7, 1941, Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the United States into the middle of World War II.

That attack sunk the mighty Arizona, forever entombing over 1,000 officers and crew below the water in the battleship. Yet, a memorial commission established in 1949 is still having trouble finding the money to start construction on a proper tribute to the fallen.

* * *

Though NBC ended up not filming the show, fortunately at least the audio was captured and preserved for us to still hear today. It appears on the 1980 “Silver” boxed set Elvis Aron Presley, which received a CD release in 1998. The sound quality is not great, but it is certainly listenable.

I pulled this set out for the first time in years yesterday and loved hearing this top-notch and exciting concert. It also reminded me that quite some time ago I had set aside a related book for later reading. As is often the case, by the time “later” came, I had forgotten about it.

Elvis In Hawaii by Jerry Hopkins (author of Elvis: A Biography and Elvis: The Final Years) is an oversized book filled with text and photos about Elvis’ various excursions to Hawaii, including this 1961 concert. One of the cool pieces of memorabilia in the book is Elvis’ handwritten set list for the show, which helped inspire today’s post. Interestingly, he originally planned to sing “Doin’ The Best I Can,” a 1960 album cut from G.I. Blues, before scratching it out and replacing it with his 1956 hit “Don’t Be Cruel.”

Of course, Elvis would return to Hawaii a number of times after this show, including the 1973 cancer fund benefit for which the television cameras of NBC and the world were present, Aloha From Hawaii. Only two songs appear in both his 1961 and 1973 benefit concerts in Hawaii. Can you name them?

USS Arizona Memorial in 2006

USS Arizona Memorial in 2006

The 1961 USS Arizona benefit raised over $50,000 for the memorial as well as turned a spotlight on the issue to encourage contributions from others, including the US Congress. On Memorial Day 1962, the memorial was finally dedicated.

Though no one knew it at the time, the show also marked Elvis’ last live appearance for over seven years until the studio audience tapings of the 1968 ELVIS television special and his full-fledged 1969 Las Vegas shows. Instead, for better or worse, most of the rest of his 1960s career would focus on making movies.

* * *

Elvis knows he could stay on all night and they would stay, but the show is winding down now. He won’t be leaving Hawaii yet, though.

In just a couple of days, he has to start filming a new movie, Blue Hawaii. Though Mr. Wallis once told him it was to be a “drama,” Elvis is no longer so sure of that after reading the script and recording over a dozen songs for the soundtrack back in Hollywood just a few days ago.

Being on stage in Hawaii is a lot better than that stuffy recording studio. “We’d like to do a spiritual song for you, ladies and gentlemen, from our religious album called His Hand In Mine,” he says. “It goes something like this.”

He launches into “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot.” For that moment on stage, all is right in his world.

Admitting a Guilty Pleasure

/ TY / 9 Comments

Today, I want to make a startling admission that may cause you to never want to read any of my Elvis reviews ever again.

In fact, it may forever change the way you read The Mystery Train Elvis Blog, if you come back here at all.

It’s not fair for me to keep posting here without letting you know the full truth, though. I can no longer hide this secret.

So, here it is. Prepare yourself. I’m even placing a random Elvis photo in between, in case you want to stop reading now and avoid the shock and horror of what I have to say below. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Cover of Double Trouble (1967)

Cover of Double Trouble (1967)

Here is my confession:

I love Elvis’ version of “Old MacDonald.”

There, I said it. I have finally admitted it.

I know the 1966 recording for the movie Double Trouble is considered a career low point for Elvis. By most accounts, recording the song was an extreme embarrassment for him – which is an accomplishment considering how embarrassing it must have been to record many of his other 1960s movie tunes, too.

Yet, despite all of that, I still can’t help but love “Old MacDonald.” I want to sing along every time it comes on. Maybe that’s the power of Elvis, or maybe that’s just the power of my own insanity.

I also enjoy the dark humor of the song, which was adapted by Randy Starr from the children’s tune for use in the movie. Stuff like, “…if those animals get out of line, we’ll have a mulligan stew…” Being an animal lover, I probably shouldn’t find that funny. But I do.

I have now admitted being a fan of a “bad” Elvis song. How about you? Are there any universally panned Elvis performances that you secretly enjoy? Make your confession in the comments below.

A refreshing portrait of Elvis after the Army [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

I run across cool stuff every now and then that I just want to point out to you. Peter Guralnick’s Last Train To Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley represents the definitive account of Elvis’ early years. Though many herald it along with Last Train, his follow-up volume, Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, often leaves something to be desired.

Guralnick at least treats his subject with a sympathetic eye, which is better than most Elvis biographers, but his disdain for much of Elvis’ post-Army career is still evident. As someone who happens to love and enjoy this later Elvis, I do not like to see those years so easily dismissed. The great thing is, someone else has already said all of this far better than I ever could.

Drjohncarpenter over on the For Elvis CD Collectors message board recommended “Elvis In The Dark” by Daniel Wolff. It contains a critical look not only at the post-Army Elvis, but also at Guralnick’s biography. Wolff is the author of a Sam Cooke biography as well as a couple of volumes on Bruce Springsteen. After reading this piece, one of the best I have ever seen about Elvis, my hope is that Wolff will write a Presley biography some day as well.

* * *

There was a sad announcement this week in the Elvis world. Sylvia Shemwell recently passed away. She was a member of the Sweet Inspirations, the vocal group that backed Elvis on stage from his return to live performances in 1969 through his death in 1977.

Before becoming part of Elvis’ show, the Sweet Inspirations were already a Grammy-winning gospel group that once backed Aretha Franklin. Outside of their time with Elvis, their best known hit was “Sweet Inspiration,” released in 1968.

Sylvia appears with Elvis in the documentary movies That’s The Way It Is (1970) and Elvis On Tour (1972). She also appears with him in the television specials Aloha From Hawaii (1973) and Elvis In Concert (1977) as well as countless live concert albums.

You see a more recent photo of her over on ElvisNews.com: Sylvia Shemwell Passed Away.

As for the official Elvis site, as far as I could find, there was no mention of her in their news section. They did, however, find the time to promote a so-called Elvis “Tribute” Artist competition.

My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this time. Sylvia: Thank you for the music.

* * *

Myrna Smith, another member of the Sweet Inspirations who backed Elvis during the same time and events, was recently hospitalized in Great Britain. It sounds like she is doing better, though, and will hopefully be released soon.

John Wilkinson played rhythm guitar for Elvis in the 1969 through 1977 era, again appearing in those same events. Wilkinson is battling cancer and was recently hospitalized in Missouri.

I was thinking the other day, because of Elvis, I have been listening to these people for pretty much my entire life. I wish all of them well.

Guest Post: Elvis Super 8 Film Festival [The Film Frontier blog]

/ Guest Conductor

First of all, I’d like to thank Ty for giving me an invitation to guest blog here on The Film Frontier. As I’m both an Elvis fan and a movie buff, I thought I’d try to combine those two topics in my post.

As you might know, Elvis Week, where fans from around the world gather in Memphis to celebrate their idol’s life and career, has just ended. Among the many activities a film fest was held on August 11, where a couple of the King’s movies were screened in a real cinema. Reading about it made me think about an old idea of mine for an Elvis film festival.

I got the idea a couple of years ago when I bought some Elvis movies on Tradera, which is kind of a Swedish Ebay. Now, I’m not talking about VHS or DVD copies, but of Super 8 sound and color films.

The films in question are G.I. Blues, Blue Hawaii, Fun In Acapulco, Girls! Girls! Girls! and Roustabout. Each one consists of 375 feet of film and has a running time of about 18 minutes.
The reason I bought them in the first place is that I’m a sentimental guy, I guess. When I was a kid I had my own Super 8 movie camera (just like Elvis!) and I loved to make films, and also to buy home movies (both cartoons and feature films) and watch them with the help of my faithful super 8 projector.

I remember being fascinated by how the distributors of the super 8 movies could manage to edit down a full-length feature film like Son Of Frankenstein into a film with a running time of approximately four minutes, and somehow managed to keep the plot intact.

Thinking a bit more about it now, I realise how spoiled we are nowadays with the DVD format featuring the complete movie in perfect quality, as well as a lot of extra material. Back in the 60’s, 70’s and even the early 80’s people had to make do with four, ten or perhaps twenty minutes of super 8 film, sometimes without sound.

Now, here is my idea of a film festival: As my brother is a big fan of Elvis too, the plan is to invite him, buy a lot of Cheez Doodles that we both love, and screen my five super 8 Elvis movies. It might not be the biggest audience you’ve heard of, but it will be an attentive and appreciative one, of that I’m sure.

There’s just one problem. The reason why this festival hasn’t taken place so far and why I haven’t even watched any of my Elvis super 8 movies yet is because my projector can’t play sound. And watching an Elvis movie where you can’t hear the King singing just isn’t a very interesting concept, is it?

So now is the time to put forth an effort to find a super 8 projector with that capability so I can render my Elvis Super 8 Film Festival possible. Maybe I can find one on Tradera or Ebay. Then my brother and I can finally find out if the plot is intact on my Elvis super 8 movies. Given the not too complicated stories, and the fact that they run for about 18 minutes each, it probably is.

PS: All you sci-fi fans are invited too. You know why? Together with the five Elvis movies the seller threw in a super 8 edit of Star Wars lasting about 10 minutes. And it’s both in colour and with sound.

/Thomas, Elvis Today

Some final thoughts on an Elvis weekend [The Film Frontier blog]

/ TY

Yesterday marked the 32nd anniversary of Elvis passing away. I was out most of the day, but I did make a point of observing it by listening to FTD’s All Shook Up (August 26, 1969, Midnight Show, Las Vegas) and watching Sit-down Show #2 (June 27, 1968, 8 PM, Burbank) from ELVIS: ’68 Comeback Special-Deluxe Edition DVD.

One of my favorite little segments from that sit-down show gave me an idea for a future post. After the first couple songs of the show, Elvis mentions on a whim that they should have had audience members fill out cards to ask him questions.

Though I can only imagine what some of those questions would have been (“Elvis, will you kiss me?” “Elvis, will you please buy me a Lincoln?” “Elvis, what’s your secret with women?”), I think this would have been a great concept.

Elvis’ buddy, Charlie Hodge, unfortunately dismisses it. He quickly moves Elvis on by saying, “I’ve got a question . . . what’re you going to sing next?” and then prods him into starting “That’s All Right.”

To my knowledge, Elvis never executed his answering fan questions concept during his shows over the next nine years. I have heard of shows with a “request box” where people could ask that he perform certain songs, but that’s not quite the same thing. I wish he had tried this a couple of times (and maybe he did, who knows, there were well over a thousand shows).

So, if you could ask Elvis one question, what would it be? I’ll have to think about that one for awhile. So, for now, I’ll just say, “To Be Continued. . . .”

Read some great news over on Elvis Today that the Elvis Collectors label, Follow That Dream Records, is not dead! With no new releases announced lately, I was beginning to share Thomas’ concern that the end was near for FTD after ten years.

Turns out that there are three more albums in the Classic Albums series currently in the works. Meanwhile, the next release will contain rehearsals from August 1974. As someone who does not buy bootleg material, I’m glad FTD is getting around to releasing official versions of material like this. I’m also glad that I won’t have to wait until the Twelfth of Never to buy more FTD releases.